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$62M MSU business school expansion aims for Google vibe

A rendering of the facade of a planned expansion of the Eli Broad College of Business on the campus of Michigan State University slated to open in fall 2019.(Photo: Courtesy/ Michigan State University)

EAST LANSING - A pavilion executives at Google or Apple would be proud of.

That's Michigan State University's vision for an upcoming $62 million expansion of its Eli Broad College of Business, according to Sanjay Gupta, dean of the college.

Approximately 100,000 square feet of new classrooms, laboratories, workrooms and gathering space are included in the expansion. Added flexibility in workspaces, coupled with new technology, will give students necessary experiences before they start their jobs at Google or similar companies, Gupta added.

"Collaboration is so critically important to businesses that we have to train students on how to be parts of those teams," Gupta said. "It should be second nature to work collaboratively."

The project is being funded entirely by donations, including a $10 million matching grant from the Broad Foundation. The philanthropic foundation of Eli and Edythe Broad donated $25 million to the business college in 2014 and has given nearly $100 million in total to MSU.

So far, MSU has raised a little less than half of the $62 million projected cost, though the university's Board of Trustees voted unanimously to give the project a go-ahead during its April 13 meeting.

Construction is slated to begin this summer, so long as MSU raises half of the project cost and President Lou Anna Simon approves it. The western portion of MSU's Eppley Center will be demolished to make way for the expansion.

The Eppley Center, completed in 1962, was named for Eugene Eppley, an Oklahoma hotel magnate whose foundation donated $1.5 million to MSU for its construction. Eppley passed away in 1958.

Officials also hope the new space will serve as a recruiting tool for prospective faculty and staff. The existing space is hampering MSU's ability to do so currently, according to a memorandum dated April 11. The pavilion is expected to open in fall 2019.

"The current building lacks the appropriate quality and quantity of space commensurate with the college's aspirations to improve rankings and increase competitiveness with peer institutions," the memorandum states.